A Wishing Moon (27 page)

Still connected to him in the most intimate and loving way, she did not attempt to turn around for fear of hurting him, plus she could not bear to break that most precious of connections. She lifted the uninjured arm to touch his cheek and turned her head to meet his lips with her own. “Oh, Jade, I love you so.”

He must have known, there was no way it could have been a surprise. She had been telling him she loved him every day of their acquaintance, in every way possible, with every cell of her body. Still, he reacted as if the simple words were unexpected yet longed for news.

“
My God, Arabella. What you do to me. This has never happened before.” As inexperienced as she was, even Arabella knew a man usually could not have intercourse three times in quick succession. Yet here he was—thick, hard and surging within her. And even though she was replete and in some ways exhausted, she accommodated his needs with the greatest of delight.

* * * *

Evangeline and Arabella watched as Angelique took a piece of Lyle Session’s shirt and fashioned it into a small poppet. She carefully sewed buttons on for eyes and stitched a nose and a mouth. Stuffing the poppet with yew, wormwood, pepper and nettles, they had decided to go beyond the more passive protection charms and delve right into a full frontal attack. This typical voodoo/hoodoo charm was meant to bring Lyle Sessions to his knees.

Angelique took the poppet and stitched it up around the herbs, then she sat the small doll on a marble slab and proceeded to anoint it with Damnation oil. She lit a black candle and burned a piece of parchment paper, in which his name and his deeds had been inscribed. Next, she placed the oil-drenched likeness in a cast iron cauldron and lit the whole thing ablaze—completely obliterating the charmed likeness of the insane killer. “Soon, he will regret he was ever born,” Angelique whispered.

* * * *

While Arabella was still recuperating, Jade took care of quite a bit of business. He cleaned out Kate’s things from his apartment and had them delivered post-haste to her parents’ house, just as he’d promised. He started keeping hours at his congressional office and even met with his campaign team for a quasi reunion/celebration.

He took time to address a session at the capitol and thanked everyone for their prayers and support. He made appointments and noted the times for several critical votes—all things a good congressman should do.

He also dealt with a persistent job offer from one of the most prestigious law firms in town, which reiterated their desire to have him join the firm. They left the door wide open, if he ever came to the day when politics did not meet his expectations; they foresaw a mutually beneficial association. Jade wasn’t closing any doors, right now he didn’t know what he wanted—except for Arabella, of course. He had no real need to work, if he never worked another day in his life, he had enough money to meet all of his needs. The politics was a head-rush, but being governor or even president someday was something he could live without. Admittedly, he enjoyed the work at his old law firm, Jade loved a good argument and missed the days at college when he had excelled at debate and law had seemed like the career for him.

Politics had turned his head and he felt like he had done some good down at the capitol. Green issues were not usually his parties forte, but he felt as if he were making some headway with some of the old hats and one day, maybe, the rest of the state would catch up with their forward thinking capitol.

The meeting with Reese, however, did not go as well as everything else had. “Reese, I really don’t want to hear this,” Jade stated his position emphatically.

“
You’re making a huge mistake, Jade. That woman is going to finish you in politics. Your names have already been linked. I’m not saying she isn’t coming out in a favorable light, helping find those murder victims and all, but she will never do as wife material. Arabella Landry is certainly no Kate Thompson.”

Jade’s blood boiled as he listened to Reese judge Arabella. He did everything he could to contain the anger, but he was just about to erupt. How dare this sanctimonious son-of-a-bitch say those cruel things about Arabella! “Reese, you’re my friend, or at least I thought you were. There is one thing you need to be aware of, Arabella comes first. Politics means nothing to me, compared to her. If my party can’t accept me and Arabella as a team, then I don’t want anything to do with the party or their politics. As for Kate Thompson, her name isn’t worthy to even be in the same sentence as Arabella’s. Kate is a cold, calculating icicle, where Arabella is a warm, loving, exciting, giving woman.”

“
Jade, people are talking. The rumors are starting to get around. They’re using the word ‘witch’.”

If Jade hadn’t been so furious, he would have laughed. “Reese, Arabella
is
a witch—a precious, powerful, cute-as-a-button, wand-waving, chanting, card-carrying witch. I don’t really blame you for your ignorance; I used to be in about the same shape. But that little witch and her family saved my life. They used their considerable powers to resurrect me from, might as well be, dead. I will never be able to repay her family the great debt I owe them. And if you ever do one thing to hurt Arabella or to let her know this vile shit you are spewing, I will not only beat the hell out of you, I will give Arabella permission to turn you into a roach.”

Reese shut up and walked out. Jade took a deep breath and shook his head. Actually, he didn’t have any idea if Arabella could turn anyone into a roach, but he suspected if she couldn’t her grandmother probably could.

Now, all he wanted to do was go home to Wildflower Way, back to the heaven of her arms.

Tyler Garrison was there when Jade got home and he learned five more bodies had indeed been unearthed from the Townsend property. The remains seemed to vary in time as to how long they had been buried; some looked to be years old and others possibly less. There were newspaper reporters and TV cameras everywhere. The road in front of Wildflower Way was congested with traffic. News had spread fast across the state about a serial killer lurking in the wilds of the Texas Hill Country.

Before Tyler left, he got Jade off to one side. “Congressman, I’ve looked into your background,” he began. “I see you have a concealed handgun permit.”

“
I do. I haven’t taken advantage of it. I don’t exactly think a servant of the State should walk around on public property armed to the teeth.”

“
I couldn’t agree with you more,” the detective acquiesced. “The less people we have walking around with guns, the better I feel, but here and now, I’d feel a lot better if you were armed. Sessions is not going to rest until he kills one of these women and you and I both have a vested interest in keeping them and those they love safe. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of having one of your staff go by your apartment and bring me your weapon.”

Jade laughed as he watched the detective bring out Jade’s own pistol from his pocket. “If I didn’t like you Garrison, this might make me mad. But, I’m with you, this thing with Sessions is not over and I want to do everything I can to protect Arabella and her family.” He took his gun from the detective and tucked it into his belt, under his coat.

That night in their bed, Jade tried to show her what she really meant to him. Over and over again, Reese Philips’ words echoed in his mind and he strove to apologize to Arabella for other people’s ignorance with every kiss of his lips and every stroke of his tongue. She, despite her witchy powers, had no idea anything was wrong at all. She laughed and played and pleased him endlessly with her soft touch and soft lips and the soft sweet folds of her womanhood.

She lay on his broad chest and stroked the smooth muscles rippling beneath her touch. She rose up on one elbow and just looked at him. “I cannot get enough of you. Look at this chest,” she marveled. “It’s so wide and sexy. It’s just a playground for my fingers…” She stroked his nipples with the tips of her fingers. “…a playground for my tongue…” She began to taste him with tiny little licks, like a cat treating herself to cream. “…a playground for my breasts.” She rose up so her nipples were just grazing his sensitive skin, enflaming his passion once more. He took all he could, then he twirled her over, and before she knew she had moved, he rammed his hard cock deep into her soft center. He felt the tiniest of flinches and immediately remorse halted his thrusts. “Oh, Arabella, did I hurt you? God, I should have prepared you.” She stopped his words with her lips.

“
Hush.” She wound her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck and lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. “You didn’t hurt me; you just surprised me, that’s all.” She didn’t allow him to stop—rather she made it impossible for him to stop as she began those magical movements that drove him wild. After their loving, he held her until she went to sleep. He vowed to be more careful with her. Despite the male pride that came from knowing he had an extra-large penis, came the responsibility to make sure his love was always ready to accept him.

Then a thought occurred to him that ought to occur to any male over the age of eighteen, if he is sexually active and cares anything about the woman he is sleeping with. He knew their circumstances had been unique, but that didn’t give him even an iota of an excuse. He was shocked to admit it, but not once—in all the glorious times he had worshiped her body—had he even thought about protecting her against pregnancy.

Chapter Thirteen

Something was eating Lyle Sessions. His skin burned and itched. Hiding out in the damned countryside had not been his original plan. Why was the Lord testing him so? Had he not fulfilled his calling? Oh yes, but not with the witches. They still walked free and unencumbered, while he—the Lord’s anointed—slunk and hid like a cast away dog.

He clawed at the blisters, which had risen on his arms and legs.
Must have got into a patch of damn poison ivy. Didn’t think there was any of that shit around this time of year
. Soon, it would be over and then he would be free.

* * * *

Tyler finally got a break. Three of the five women had been identified. One of them had been from Houston, a Margie Raddison. She had been a single mother who had disappeared on Interstate 35 at a gas station. A speeding ticket in Sessions’ name had popped up on the computer and put him less than two miles from the incident within minutes of the abduction. “Shit,” Tyler swore. The woman had probably been in the trunk when the officer had been giving the old bastard the speeding ticket. The more information the coroner pulled from the women’s remains the more convinced they became that Sessions had given them an injection to knock them out so they would be easily transported and remain manageable until he could get them back to his place.

Yet, despite everything Detective Garrison and his men had done, Lyle Sessions remained elusive. He had posted officers to watch his home, Wildflower Way, his church and every other place they could spare a man to survey a likely target area. It was as if he had dropped off the face of the earth. Tensions were running high at the herb farm and he knew for their sake, as well as his own that something had to give. And when it did, Tyler Garrison had every intention of proposing to Elizabeth Landry.

* * * *

Arabella was happier than anyone had a right to be. Her mother was just blossoming under the attention of the now constantly underfoot detective. Dr. Francois had given Jade an absolutely clean bill of health and had talked a normally aloof Angelique into actually going out on the town. It wouldn’t surprise Arabella to find out he was looking into transferring his practice to New Orleans.

Nanette had relented and allowed Evangeline to enroll at the University of Texas for the next semester and she had been busy getting all the paperwork done to have all of her records and hours transferred from Tulane. Nanette, herself, was still immersed in casting spell after spell to protect them and to stop Lyle Sessions from doing anyone else the slightest bit of harm.

As for herself and Jade, things could not be better. Jade spent his nights at Wildflower Way
and his days in Austin. He had taken up his Congressional mantle and she had begun a scrapbook of all the articles in the newspapers and magazines written about his service and his bright future.

Arabella was so in love with Jade, she literally walked around in an euphoria of happiness. She delighted in doing things for him, preparing his meals, taking care of his clothes and satisfying him in bed. She wondered if every woman was as deeply affected by their lover as she was. During the day while they were apart, he would cross her mind and instantly just the thought of him would almost bring her to her knees. Her vagina would feel like an open chasm of emptiness and all she could think about was him filling her, stretching her, bringing her to an earth shattering, mind numbing release. She would probably never admit it to him, but sometimes when she took a shower, thoughts of him would fill her and she would find herself plucking at her own nipples and thrusting her fingers between her own legs trying to relieve the torment of their separation.